Since Cao Wen had given that old Wang head a good scolding at the market, the old man, knowing he was in the wrong, never appeared on Sifang Street again.
Whether he set up shop elsewhere or simply stopped doing business, no one knew.
Making a living at his age wasn’t easy, but there was a limit to people’s tolerance.
Not having beaten the old man was already showing some understanding of his struggle to survive.
After this purge, the street vendors around Sifang Street all feared Cao Wen, respecting him and no longer causing trouble. For once, the vendors enjoyed a rare stretch of peace.
The Cao Family’s business was running smoothly, their reputation growing ever louder in town. Many restaurant and tavern owners had even extended olive branches, wanting to hire him as a chef with very generous offers.
But Cao Wen was used to running his own business—though it was tiring, it gave him freedom.
Seeing the daily increasing flow of customers, Cao Wen and Xu Duoyan planned that once they had enough savings, they would open a permanent stall in the market.
Then they could run their own livelihood without working for others.
Two months passed in the blink of an eye.
The temperature had dropped significantly, and whenever the wind blew at the market, a faint fragrance of osmanthus filled the air—it was clearly September.
The weather turned pleasant, and the autumn harvest was nearing its end.
The town saw an increase in grain trading.
This year’s grain prices were moderate.
Cao Wen didn’t plan to buy any; his own storage was enough to last a while.
There was no need to rush into the heated market.
Near the end of the month, a group of people passed through the market, waist-bound with red silk ribbons, beating drums and gongs to announce good news.
The market buzzed with chatter: their town had produced a Qiyuan.
The August county prefecture exam results had come out, and the Qiyuan had returned home.
Since their town was remote, it took until this month for the scholars to arrive.
A crowd gathered, eager to catch a glimpse of the Guibang scholar’s appearance.
The market was packed, more lively than usual.
Cao Wen stretched his neck for a look. It was nothing special to see someone become a Laoye from another family, so he had no intention of joining the crowd.
But he overheard someone say, “The county prefecture not only sent the Laoye back but also brought a new imperial edict. The Tingzhang posted it as soon as he heard the order.”
“What edict? Please don’t tell me it’s a tax increase!”
“Alas, if taxes rise again, life’s going to get unbearable!”
As the rumors spread, they became more exaggerated, until soon everyone believed the tax increase was official.
Cao Wen and Xu Duoyan frowned, then decided to check the bulletin board themselves to see what the new edict was.
Many townsfolk had already gathered there. Cao Wen and Xu Duoyan, being tall, could see over the crowd from behind and spotted a lean middle-aged man standing beneath the notice board.
This must be the Tingzhang, overseeing the village heads under Fengyuan Town.
“More than ten years have passed. This year’s county exam produced a rare talent—the Zhou Family Master topped the Guibang, becoming a Qiyuan. This is a blessing for Fengyuan Town!” the man announced.
He continued, “The realm is peaceful today. By imperial decree, the people must diligently tend to agriculture and sericulture. The magistrate is concerned for Fengyuan Town’s remote hardships and its emerging talents. To benefit the people, this special edict is issued: the wasteland southwest of town is to be sold cheaply to commoners for reclamation and farming.”
“So it’s not about raising taxes after all.”
A collective sigh of relief came from the crowd.
Xu Duoyan folded her arms and exhaled deeply.
Cao Wen glanced around.
There were too many people, and he couldn’t clearly see if the notice specified the terms of the land sale.
Noticing his interest, Xu Duoyan nudged him: “Planning to acquire land, are you?”
“Land? No one ever thinks it’s too much.”
“Your family is only three people, and with you out half the day running the business, how would you manage more land?”
Xu Duoyan explained, “Listen carefully. The imperial court isn’t selling fertile or dry fields, but wasteland. They want the people to reclaim it, so they can collect taxes afterward. But after the war, the treasuries are empty, so no tax increases this time. Encouraging farming is at least a good sign.”
Cao Wen considered this and agreed.
The recent wars had displaced many, leaving much land abandoned.
The wastelands to the west and south of Fengyuan Town were overrun with sharp, rooty wolf-tail grass taller than a man, with seriously sandy and rocky soil.
Reclaiming such land would be a huge project, requiring massive labor.
Given that they had spent over thirty taels of silver buying two acres of farmland before, the phrase “low price” was very tempting.
Running a business was indeed good and brought quick profits, but it came with many restrictions.
The taxes were always higher than on grain production, and life was never secure. Ultimately, owning a large plot of land was more stable in this era.
But land reclamation was no trivial matter.
Considering all these difficulties, Cao Wen had to give up on the idea.
They didn’t cause a fuss and quietly left after learning the notice’s contents.
That day, rain came.
In the early morning, Cao Wen opened the door and found the whole courtyard shrouded in a thin grey mist.
The rain wasn’t heavy, just a fine, endless drizzle.
Last night, around midnight, Cao Wen felt a chill in his leg and heard the rain outside when pulling the covers tighter.
It had been raining all night and showed no sign of stopping.
He stood at the door rubbing his arms.
The autumn rain mixed with wind was quite cold.
“One autumn rain brings a chill. Better put on an extra layer.”
Xu Duoyan emerged from the kitchen and asked Cao Wen, “Are you going to do business today?”
“I don’t know when this rain will stop. It’s nothing like a summer shower that passes quickly.”
Cao Wen exhaled.
A faint mist hung in the air.
The sudden cold was undeniable.
“Let’s wash the pig’s offal as usual but not cut it yet. We’ll prep the ingredients. If the rain stops after noon, we’ll head to the market. Otherwise, we’ll rest today.”
With cooler weather and rain, the pig offal wouldn’t spoil as quickly as in summer. Keeping it for a day or two was no problem.
He rubbed his hands and moved closer to Xu Duoyan.
He noticed her hands and face were warm and followed her into the kitchen.
“Autumn’s coming fast. We need to bring back some cloth to make autumn clothes.”
“Setting up at the stall near the wind, the summer wasn’t so cold, but autumn’s chill is obvious now.”
Lu Lingbi said, “Don’t worry, the Fan Workshop’s business has paused. Mom has more free time now and can help the two of you make clothes.”
Xu Duoyan smiled and nodded.
“It’s broad daylight now, yet Cao Yang still hasn’t come. He must have guessed the rain would keep him from going to town for business.”
The three talked about autumn clothes for a while.
Cao Wen helped Lu Lingbi prepare breakfast.
Just as the meal was almost ready, Cao Yang hadn’t appeared, prompting Cao Wen to glance out the window.
Lu Lingbi had woken early and seen the relentless rain, guessing it would delay Cao Wen and Xu Duoyan’s business.
Seeing how tired the two were from these past months with little rest, she hadn’t urged them to sleep longer and had slowed her cooking pace.
Once everyone was up, they began preparing the offal and kneading the noodles.
Last night, they’d eaten shredded pork stir-fry.
There was still plenty left after Cao Yongquan’s family had eaten, so Cao Wen suggested using the leftover pork and dried vegetables for minced meat noodles this morning.
With the household’s daily income now substantial, they were willing to spend on such meals.
“If he doesn’t come, I won’t save any minced meat noodles for him.”
Xu Duoyan said, “A Yang is already very diligent. Rainy days are good for sleeping, so maybe he just overslept. The work can wait; no need to rush him.”
Cao Wen chuckled, “You’re quite protective of him.”
“Autumn means the osmanthus is blooming thickly. That boy even picked a lot, kept them in the tavern’s water channel, waiting to give them to me when the stall closed.”
Xu Duoyan raised an eyebrow.
“Such a thoughtful child—I have to protect him.”
Cao Wen’s face darkened slightly.
“He looks honest enough, but when I’m busy and can’t intervene, he sure knows how to cozy up to you.”
Lu Lingbi smiled at their bickering and didn’t join in, knowing otherwise the debate would never end.
“All right, the noodles are kneaded. When do we boil them?”
Though she spoke as if not waiting for Cao Yang, when the noodles were done, she said, “I’ll go check if he’s here.”
“Sure, no rush.”
Cao Wen got up and stepped out of the kitchen.
Just as he was reaching for his straw hat, he heard footsteps splashing and a voice calling, “Cousin.”
“I was just saying to wait for you. The noodles are ready; come inside and get ready to eat.”
Cao Wen saw Cao Yang fold his umbrella under the eaves and said, “Did the sleep bug keep you down this morning?”
Cao Yang looked up, eyes red.
“What happened?”
Cao Wen grabbed his arm, frowning.
“Who bullied you? Let me deal with that bastard.”
Cao Yang sniffled, “Early this morning, people from the landlord’s side came and took all the grain from this year’s autumn harvest.”
“Isn’t that supposed to happen? Renting land from the landlord means paying thirty percent of the grain as rent.”
“But they want to reclaim all the land. Before winter, tenant farmers from outside will take over. They say if we insist on farming, next year’s rent will be forty percent.”
The foreign landlord, who initially seemed quite decent, just wanted them to finish the autumn harvest.
Once the tenant farmers delivered the grain, the landlord immediately turned hostile.
He not only wanted to evict Cao Yongquan’s family but all tenant farmers in Caojia’ao.
Because the outsider landlord was uneasy and feared any trickery, he cleared out the original tenants for security.
The official story was that loyal tenants who paid an extra ten percent could continue renting, but the tenants barely had enough grain left for themselves to pay the regular thirty percent, let alone an extra ten.
The grain they harvested would likely be consumed by New Year, leaving nothing for the next autumn harvest.
This was clearly an eviction.
Tenant farmers, forced to work hard on the harvest to please the new landlord, were cruelly betrayed.
“My mother nearly fainted from anger, and my father was too furious to speak.”
Cao Yang wiped his eyes.
“That’s why I was delayed at home until now.”
The three couldn’t help but sigh.
For tenant farmers, it was like being slaves—masters arranged everything however they wanted with no say from the tenants.
“Don’t worry. Now that autumn’s here and the weather’s cooler, we plan to set up the stall at noon. We’ll earn from both the midday and evening crowds.”
Xu Duoyan said, “We’ll definitely be short-handed. We were already thinking of hiring help. Uncle and his wife can come assist. We’ll pay daily wages, so we don’t need to look for others outside.”
“Better not trouble cousin and his wife.”
“How can that be trouble? We need the help anyway.”